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Students, staff members coordinate hurricane relief efforts

Posted on September 25, 2017

The campus community collected enough supplies to make and ship more
than 200 hygiene kits and many more supplies to Texas to support
victims of Hurricane Harvey. The collection drive was sponsored by the
Alliance of Professional Support Staff.

Students in the master of public health program, along with students
in the Public Health Society, coordinated a collection for hygiene
kits for victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The items included
shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, body wash, lip balm, socks
and more.

Raj Kaur, president of the Public Health Society, said the student
organization also partnered with Creston Brewery in Grand Rapids,
which matched PHS's $200 donation and also donated $1 for every pint
sold on September 14. Kaur said the group assembled 167 kits and
raised $370.

Samantha Radecki, a graduate student in the public health program who
helped coordinate the event, said their efforts will directly help
victims in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean.

Ranelle Brew, associate professor and chair of public health, said
the event helped create community awareness and assistance for a
national public health effort. "There's no better time to put our
public health education to work than when there is a national public
health crisis happening in our country," said Brew.

Brew said the group is working with SEARCH Homeless Services in
Houston and donations will continue to be collected through the Public
Health office.